“How do I look when I think about him?”
“Like a little cartoon. Your pupils turn into hearts.”
I snorted, reaching for a stack of books that I’d shoved against the wall. I arranged them carefully into one of the boxes. Even if there were things in my apartment I decided to get rid of, it would be easier to bring it all to Cory’s and do it there. He was more attached to my things than I was, and I doubted he’d want me to part with any of it. Maybe that was more…
Maybe that was so I wouldn’t feel so assimilated after moving in with him. So I would still have my own things and my own memories in the foundation of the life we were trying to build together.
“Do you think things with him are foolish?” I asked.
“In what way? But also no.”
I huffed a laugh. “I met him in January. We only spent one weekend a month together until the summer, and then he was here and now…”
I trailed off, pushing at one of the empty boxes.
“Doyouthink it’s foolish?” she asked quietly.
I talked myself through every truth and lie and hope that lived inside of me when it came to my relationship with Cory. All the things I’d thought it would be from the first night to last night, and all the turns and twists we’d walked together.
“I don’t,” I finally answered.
My best friend scooted closer to me, covered my knee with her hand, then yanked me down so my head was cradled in the nest of her lap. She finger-combed her way through my hair, then after she was satisfied with the lack of tangles, she traced a soft half-moon across the arc of my cheekbone. I closed my eyes and sank into the comfort of her touch.
“It’s okay to be scared.”
“I’m not scared,” I lied.
“He’s not going to leave you,” she said. “He’s not going to change his mind and move back to New York.”
It was almost a preposterous thing for her to say. Of course, Cory wasn’t going to leave me. For as much as I’d given up to make things work with him, they’d come easy in the end. Every concession had made perfect sense. And it had to be the same for him. No sane man would walk away from his whole life, his entire career, for a fling across the country.
“You’re right,” I eventually said, rolling onto all fours before pushing myself back onto my ass. I made grabby hands for some magazines behind Morgan’s back, and she handed them to me with an arrogant smile. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon packing my apartment into boxes.
CHAPTER 9
Cory
“I got you something,”I said, my arms slipping around Reese from behind to pull him against me.
He wriggled his ass against the bulge in my pants. “I can feel that.”
“Cheeky, but no. That’s not what I was talking about.”
Reese turned his head to look over his shoulder at me. “I love you, but it better not be a bigger butt plug. I still break out in a cold sweat when I think about that thing.”
“Don’t worry, darling. It’s not a giant butt plug.” Rising on my toes, I kissed him. “This time.”
“So reassuring.”
“I figured,” I said as I let go of him to pull my cell out of my pocket. I opened it to the listing of my New York apartment and then turned the screen toward him. “I’m officially no longer a New Yorker in any capacity.”
He stared at the screen, his eyes widening a little at the asking price. I wondered if he’d ever get used to the wealth disparity between us. I tried not to call attention to it for the most part. I wasn’t about to demand he stop working, but he could if he wanted to. I tried to keep the lavish gifts to aminimum. In fact, the most expensive thing I’d given him was my own watch.
Reese let out a breath and then shot me a smile that made him glow. Tucking my phone away, I drew him close. “How do you feel?”
He rocked against the bulge in my pants. “Horny.”
“How are you feeling about the move? About your move. About us. About everything. There’s been a lot of changes this year for us both. I don’t want you to feel forgotten or lost in the shuffle.”
